One SSS Affix per Level: My Novice Club Can Slay Gods!

John glanced at the quest prompt.

It was actually a real quest?

Whatever the Holy See intended to accomplish by sending him there was a separate matter.

The quest was real.

And so were the rewards.

"Accept."

[Quest accepted!]

Marco nodded in satisfaction.

"To prevent anyone from shielding a user of black magic, the City Guard must assign a captain to accompany you throughout the entire investigation."

"Once the mission is complete, regardless of the outcome, a full report must be delivered to the Holy See immediately."

With that, he turned and left with the Inspection Corps.

Before departing, the gray-haired priest glanced back at John.

There was a faint trace of pity in his eyes.

The hall fell silent once again.

Lorne sheathed his sword, an apologetic expression on his face.

"I’m truly sorry."

"The Holy See has become increasingly overbearing in recent years."

"You should settle in first. Once I’m prepared, I’ll take you to the southern district."

"No need."

John put away his identity token.

"We leave now."

The Investigation Team had only just disappeared.

The longer they delayed, the lower the chances that anyone would still be alive.

Lorne looked at him for a moment before nodding firmly.

"All right."

...

Half an hour later—

The two arrived at the battle site south of the city.

More than a dozen corpses lay scattered along both sides of the road.

The black flames had already gone out.

Scorch marks left by spell bombardments covered the ground, and a harsh, pungent odor lingered in the air.

Lorne crouched down and examined the footprints.

"People were taken away."

"A fairly large group. They headed southeast."

The two followed the trail.

After passing through a forest, an abandoned village appeared ahead.

The houses had collapsed.

The farmland lay barren.

Several wooden posts covered in strips of black cloth stood at the entrance to the village.

Around thirty members of the Dark Magic Society were spread throughout the settlement.

Some were standing guard.

Others were searching through the ruins.

Several more sat around a bonfire, speaking quietly among themselves.

John activated [Scan].

[Dark Magic Society Cultist]

[Level: Lv.14.]

[HP: 1,860/1,860.]

...

[Dark Magic Society Elite]

[Level: Lv.16.]

[HP: 2,480/2,480.]

Most of them were between Lv.14 and Lv.16.

However, there was no sign of the Investigation Team nearby.

No corpses.

No equipment left behind from a battle.

It was as though the missing members had vanished into thin air.

Lorne lowered his voice.

"Something isn’t right."

"Don’t act recklessly. We should circle around and—"

He stopped halfway through his sentence.

The person beside him was already gone.

With the Fire Crystal Staff resting on his shoulder, John strode openly out of the forest.

Lorne’s eye twitched violently.

"You..."

The Dark Magic Society member guarding the village entrance quickly noticed him.

"Someone’s here!"

"Prepare for battle!"

More than thirty people raised their weapons simultaneously.

John lifted the Fire Crystal Staff.

The fiery crystal at its tip suddenly lit up.

"Fire Serpent."

Boom!

A flaming serpent over ten meters long shot out from the staff.

It expanded rapidly in the wind, transforming into a vicious fire python as it lunged toward the nearest Dark Magic Society member.

Boom!

[-15,032!]

[Base Calculation: 240% × 1,075 × 1.2 × 5 = 15,480. Final damage reduced by Magic Defense.]

The cultist did not even have time to scream before flames swallowed his entire body and burned him into charcoal.

[You have slain a Lv.14 Dark Magic Society Cultist. EXP +90. Silver Coins +2!]

John turned his wrist.

The staff lit up again.

The skill’s cooldown was extremely short.

A second Fire Serpent immediately shot forward.

Boom!

[-15,032!]

Another member was killed instantly.

[You have slain a Lv.15 Dark Magic Society Cultist. EXP +110. Silver Coins +3!]

Then came the third.

The fourth...

Fire Serpents launched one after another like shots from an automatic cannon.

Every hit resulted in a precise, single-target execution.

[-15,028!]

[-15,047!]

[-15,003!]

Within a few short seconds, several Dark Magic Society members fell in succession.

[You have slain a Lv.16 Dark Magic Society Elite. EXP +130. Silver Coins +4!]

[You have slain 6 Dark Magic Society members!]

[EXP +660!]

[Silver Coins +15!]

The remaining members finally reacted and scattered in every direction.

But John had already raised his staff again.

One Fire Serpent after another precisely locked onto its target.

No Cleave.

No spreading area damage.

Only single-target firepower pushed to the absolute extreme.

After several rounds of spells, nothing remained at the village entrance but charred corpses and scattered equipment.

[You have slain 20 Dark Magic Society members!]

[EXP +2,220!]

[Silver Coins +47!]

[You have obtained 13 Black Iron Weapons!]

[You have obtained 18 Dark Magic Robes!]

[You have obtained 11 Low-Grade Recovery Potions!]

[You have obtained 24 portions of Dark Magic Dust!]

Lorne stood at the edge of the forest, unable to take a single step for quite some time.

He had originally come here to protect John.

Now it seemed that his actual purpose was to provide directions.

"Who dares kill my men?!"

An enraged roar came from the depths of the village.

Boom!

A ruined house was smashed apart from within.

A muscular man more than two meters tall emerged from the wreckage, carrying an enormous black battle axe.

[Dark Magic Society Convoy Captain—Barton]

[Level: Lv.18.]

[Rank: Thousand-Player-Tier Boss.]

[HP: 6,000/6,000.]

[Physical Attack: 420.]

[Skills: Berserk Charge, Bloodrage Slash.]

Barton roared as blood-red light erupted around his body.

[Berserk Charge!]

Deep craters appeared beneath his feet.

His enormous body charged toward John like a war chariot.

John calmly raised his staff.

[Binding Chains!]

Clatter!

Dozens of dark crimson chains erupted from the ground and instantly wrapped around Barton’s limbs.

[Double Bind activated!]

[Chains of Silence activated!]

Barton was firmly pinned in place.

Every skill icon on his status panel turned gray.

"Release me!"

John put away the staff and took out the Novice Club.

[Overcharge activated!]

[Current Charge Time: 1 second.]

[Current Charge Time: 2 seconds.]

[Current Charge Time: 3 seconds.]

[Current Charge Time: 4 seconds.]

Just as the chains began to loosen—

The Novice Club came crashing down.

Bang!

[-1,504!]

[True Damage!]

The next instant, Cleave erupted.

Boom—!

The ground collapsed violently.

[-4,515!]

[True Damage!]

Barton’s HP was emptied instantly.

His enormous body crashed into the ruins.

[You have slain the Thousand-Player-Tier Boss "Barton"!]

[EXP +900!]

[Gold Coins +3!]

[You have obtained the B-Rank Equipment: Bloodrage Battle Axe!]

[You have obtained the Special Item: Black Iron Key!]

[You have obtained the Quest Item: Sealed Letter!]

John inspected the loot.

Aside from the B-Rank battle axe, the rest of the equipment was merely ordinary Black Iron gear.

Keeping it would only waste space.

He immediately listed every useless item on the marketplace.

[Estimated Sale Value: 11 Gold Coins.]

John then picked up the sealed letter.

Its surface was covered in distorted characters.

He stared at them for several seconds.

He could not recognize a single word.

Expressionlessly, John handed the letter to Lorne.

"Translate."

Lorne accepted the letter and tore open the seal.

His expression changed the moment he read the first line.

As he continued, his pupils contracted violently.

"What is it?"

Lorne raised his head, his voice slightly dry.

"The recipient of this letter..."

"Is Marco Sain, Inspection Deacon of the Holy See."

John raised an eyebrow.

That was the same man who had ordered him to carry out this mission.

"What does it say?"

Lorne lowered his gaze and continued reading aloud.

"The transfer of the cargo has been completed."

"The remaining cargo will be transported through the Drywater Riverbed to the Ashen Ruins."

"Please have the Holy See prepare the next batch of transit documents as soon as possible."

The air suddenly fell silent.

"Cargo..."

Lorne tightened his grip on the letter.

"It must refer to the members of the Missing Investigation Team."

"The people here were only left behind to deliver the message and erase the evidence."

"The actual convoy has already taken the Investigation Team toward the Ashen Ruins."

Cold sweat rapidly appeared across his forehead.

The Dark Magic Society was colluding with the Holy See.

This was no longer an ordinary missing-person case.

If it was not handled carefully, the entire Sunset City would be shaken.

"I have to return to the city and report this immediately."